Thread: Here we go.....

So... after receiving some advice, help, opinions from a few of members of SRP, I decided to take the plunge and buy my first straight razor. Ordered a Dovo Best quality Black 6/8 and 3" Black Latigo leather strop. I ordered my gear on Friday and to my surprise it was on my doorstep this afternoon. WOW!! What great service from Straight razor Designs. Thumbs up!!

unfortunately this morning I shaved with my trusty safety razor and now I wished I hadn't!! Figured the Razor and Strop would be at least a week to get here..

If anyone can direct me to some good beginner posts from the archives that I may want to look at (Before my first shave) it would be greatly appreciated. I will say that the razor is SCARY SHARP and makes me a bit nervous!

Thanks
Jeff

i would say read this http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ead-first.html
and the wiki if you haven't already an you'll should be fine
just keep in mind to relax, take you're time and take it easy because most nicks are the result or rushing

good luck, hope you'll like it

regards
Stijn

Originally Posted by geruchtemoaker

i would say read this http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ead-first.html
and the wiki if you haven't already an you'll should be fine
just keep in mind to relax, take you're time and take it easy because most nicks are the result or rushing

good luck, hope you'll like it

regards
Stijn

Thanks!! Appreciate it. Yeah.. I am now just starting to look through everything in the stickies section of the forum. Lots of info there. I am going to read, read, and read some more. Maybe in two days I will be ready to give it a try. I know my razor is "shave ready" but should be run across the strop after every shave other than before my first shave. Is there a stropping 101 thread someplace that i may be able to look at? A video perhaps. Would hate to dull the razor by stropping incorrectly.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

It's so great you reveived your equipment. Exciting, no?

This is the Wiki you want.

Straight Razor Place Wiki:Books/Beginners Guide - Straight Razor Place Wiki

But as for posts, I would be hard pressed to tell you which ones to read, there are so many great ones.

Fortunately, everyone here has the patience to answer the same questions again and again. So post your questions and they will get answered quickly.

Now here is what I will tell you.

1. Take it slow. This is not a race and really not one you can win. That blade will win every time.

2. Prepare your face well. Hot wash clothe, soften the beard, etc.

3. Don't try and get your whole face in your first shave. Lynn put together a great progression on how to get your hands used to handling the razor overr time. Follow it.

4. This is about angles and pressure. The wrong angles will force you to use too much pressure. If you feel like forcing the razor to cut - you have the wrong angle or your razor is dull. SRP eliminated the second one.

5. Before you take that razor to the strop, which should not be until after your first shave, take a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 paper and fold it so you end up with a 1 " strip. Use that on your strop. Try and keep from bending the strip. That is how much pressure you need while stropping.

6. Speaking of stropping. Pay close attention to the flip of the blade when going into the opposite direction. This IS when you will nick your strop if you take it too fast before your are ready.

7. You will end up using the post shave treatment that works well with your skin, but use the alum block, a cold water treatment, an after shave astringent, then a good post shave balm to seal your skin.

8. Don't even think about honing yet.

9. Map out your beard. Knowing the direction of your beard growth cold will be very important because if your beard changes direction, you will be doing a WTG, XTG and ATG all within the same stroke - you will have to change the blade angle as this happens.

Ok - so there is a bunch of stuff to help you get started.

Have fun and post a lot.

David

Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Here is the wiki article on stropping but there are also some Youtube videos on stropping from some of the members as well and can be found here

http://straightrazorpalace.com/video...stropping.html

Thanks David... You have been a great help over the last week or two and I appreciate that..
Yep.... I am pretty excited and yes I just read Lynn's "first shave" write up. I will take a look at the wiki as well. As suggested I am going to take things slow and make sure I am comfortable with my "how to" knowledge before I start on my first shave. May be a day or two but I will be sure to post my thoughts, opinion, experience here afterwards.

Thanks again.
Jeff

I'm kind of new to SR shaving as well, but I can say to practice your pre shave prep a few times prior to your first shave. I did not do this and my first time around, I made my lather dry and the overall experience was not good.

I think the pre shave is super important....so maybe practice lathering a few times prior that that first shave.

I would suggest that you go through the beginners guide in the Wiki piece by piece. A PDF of it is available for printing out, too. Then go through the threads referenced in the Wiki. There is usually a lot more behind each Wiki article than the article itself. What we've done, though, is to extract the most salient, and widely accepted pieces of information from forum discussions. Going through old threads can be terribly confusing, especially if you cannot yet tell fact from fiction.

Good luck, and keep us posted,
Robin

Jeff,

Welcome to SRP. Glad to have you aboard.

As the previous posts suggest, read the SRP Beginners Guide. Tomorrow morning, prep your face and beard and, I would suggest, beginning by shaving just one side of your face. Don't strop your razor. it ought to be good to go right out of the box/razor coffin if you purchased it from SRD. Finish up your shave with your trusty DE. Continue along this trajectory, at your own pace, util you are shaving your entire face with the straight razor.

Tonight, find an area of your bathroom or bedroom where you can secure your 3" strop from with a small hook for hanging coffee cups in the kitchen from the hardware store at about waist level. Next, get a dull knife from your place settings in the kitchen and practice your stropping technique. Try 50 on the fabric and 55 on the leather. Before stropping on the leather, vigorously rub the palm of your hand on the leather 50-100 strokes to heat it. This was suggested by Lynn in a post here at SRP sometime ago. I think it improves the draw of the strop. Whatever the reason, it works for me. Then practice your stropping technique on the leather.

Above all, be patient and go slow. Straight razor shaving isn't a horse race. It may take weeks, even months to become comfortable and proficient with the maintenance of and technique involved in the use of the razor to shave. Believe me, though, in the long run there is no more satisfying feeling or close shave imho.

Take care--and smooth shaving.

Hello, Michiganman:

As B-Berlin and the other gentlemen on the forum have suggested, go through the Wiki for its large informational and tutorial material. There is plenty to learn, and that's part of the enjoyment of wet shaving with a straight razor. Beyond that, take your time to hone your skills. Embrace the whole ritual of this traditional method of shaving, because it will add to the pleasure of it.

Regards,
Obie